Home Office

Racially Aggravated Offences

baroness manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to tackle racially motivated attacks against (1) ethnic minority women, and (2) asylum seekers and refugees.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government deplores all racially motivated attacks. A strong legal framework is in place to tackle hate crime including criminal offences of incitement to racial hatred and racially or religiously aggravated assault and criminal damage. This Government published a new hate crime action plan in July 2016. The Government supports a range of programmes including Tell MAMA, True Vision and Stop Hate UK that focus on encouraging victims including ethnic minority women, asylum seekers and refugees to report hate crime and signposting them to services that provide support for victims. The Government’s Building a Stronger Britain Together (BSBT) programme includes a range of organisations working with different communities across England and Wales that support women and girls from ethnic minorities.

Terrorism

lord laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what definition of "terrorism" they use.

lord laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they distinguish between terrorism and other criminal acts.

baroness williams of trafford: The UK definition of terrorism is set out at section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000. There are a range of criminal offences contained in the Terrorism Acts which may apply in cases where that definition is met. Section 30 of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 also places a duty on judges, when sentencing for other specified offences, to consider whether there is a terrorist connection. Charging and prosecution decisions in individual cases are a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

European Gendarmerie Force

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on the development of the EU Gendarmerie Force.

baroness williams of trafford: The European Gendarmerie Force (EUROGENDFOR) was established in 2004. Representatives from the police forces of Spain, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Poland participate in the organisation. The UK does not. The EUROGENDFOR is not part of the European Union framework. Further information on the organisation and its latest activities can be found at http://www.eurogendfor.org/

Police: Reorganisation

lord laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the interests of economy, what recent consideration they have given to amalgamating police services in England and Wales.

baroness williams of trafford: Decisions on whether to amalgamate with another police force are for individual Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Chief Constables who are accountable to their local communities and best placed to determine what would be in local interests. PCCs and Chief Constables up and down the country are demonstrating that they can deliver more efficient and effective policing through collaboration without sacrificing local accountability and identity. Requests for voluntary mergers would be considered only where they are supported by a robust business case and have community consent.

Crime: Rural Areas

baroness quin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what initiatives they are currently pursuing to tackle rural crime.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government has ensured that, through the election of Police and Crime Commissioners, all communities, including those in rural areas, have a strong voice in determining how police resources are allocated. It is for Police and Crime Commissioners to hold their forces to account on how they tackle the crimes that matter most in rural areas. In addition, in support of the Government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, we continue to work with the police, industry and others and consider the evidence on what more can be done to prevent criminals committing crime.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Regional Growth Fund

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the expected £16 billion of private sector investment for the Regional Growth Fund has already been secured; and from which industry sectors that investment has been received.

lord prior of brampton: Private sector investment secured by the Regional Growth Fund to date stands at £8.5 billion. Private leverage has been secured from the following sectors:Access to financeBusiness supportDevelopment - CommercialDevelopment - HousingManufacturing - AerospaceManufacturing - AutomotiveManufacturing - ChemicalManufacturing - ElectronicsManufacturing - FoodManufacturing - Low carbon/renewables/energyManufacturing - MaterialsManufacturing - Materials/chemicals/pharmaManufacturing - Pharma/ Life SciencesManufacturing - Transport/telecoms/utilities/portManufacturing - Transport/telecoms/utilities/ports/infrastructureManufacturing - WasteServices - Consumer servicesServices - Finance & businessServices - Media/TechnologyServices - TourismSkills

Regional Growth Fund

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the expected 550,000 jobs have been (1) safeguarded, and (2) created, to date, as a result of the Regional Growth Fund.

lord prior of brampton: 229,677 monitored jobs have been created and safeguarded to date.

Regional Growth Fund

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Local Enterprise Partnerships were unsuccessful in bids for funding from the Regional Growth Fund; and what is the breakdown of reasons for those bids not succeeding.

lord prior of brampton: The six rounds of the Regional Growth Fund were run on a competitive basis. The bids submitted in each of the various rounds were made in confidence due to the commercially sensitive information specific to the bid. We therefore do not disclosure information on unsuccessful bids.

Unified Patent Court

lord cromwell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Brexit, whether the UK will continue to participate in the Unified Patent Court; and whether the central division dealing with pharmaceuticals and life sciences will continue to be based in London, in accordance with the announcement by Baroness Neville-Rolfe at the October 2015 EU Competitiveness Council.

lord prior of brampton: The Government confirmed in November 2016 that the UK will proceed with preparations to ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement. Those preparations are progressing. No decision has been taken on our future involvement in the court once we have left the EU. That will be part of the negotiations which have not yet begun. It would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance but the Government’s efforts will be focussed on seeking the best deal possible in the negotiations with our European partners.

European Union Intellectual Property Office

lord cromwell: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UK will continue to participate in the EU Intellectual Property Office following Brexit; and if so, what will be the mechanism by which this will be achieved.

lord prior of brampton: The UK's future relationship with the European Union Intellectual Property Office is a matter for negotiations with the EU. It would be inappropriate to set out unilateral positions in advance. Officials in the Intellectual Property Office, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Exiting the European Union are considering the options available to us with the aim of achieving the best outcome for UK right holders and the UK as a whole. Meanwhile, UK businesses will continue to be able to apply to the European Union Intellectual Property Office for EU Trade Marks and Registered Community Designs covering the member states of the EU.

Energy: Fraud

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment have they made of the risk to consumers from energy scams.

lord prior of brampton: National Trading Standards (NTS) work with various bodies including the police to tackle mass marketing frauds across all sectors, including energy. The NTS scams team works with local authorities to provide support to victims. The team currently has agreements with nearly two hundred local authorities to provide additional support for victims in their areas to them rebuild their lives.

Estate Agents Act 1979

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last reviewed the effectiveness of the Estate Agents Act 1979.

lord prior of brampton: In 2012, the then Government consulted on a proposal to amend the scope of the Estate Agents Act 1979 (EAA) to help businesses to innovate and grow and allow new business models to emerge. The EAA regulates the conduct of estate agency work and lays down the duties agents owe to clients and third parties. Enforcement is carried out by The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team who regularly reviews the redress mechanisms.

Construction: Fraud

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of legislation in protecting consumers from fraudulent activity by builders.

lord prior of brampton: The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) prohibit traders, including builders, from engaging in unfair commercial practices against consumers. The regulations apply across all business sectors and set out a framework for how businesses must deal with consumers. Enforcement of the CPRs is by local authority trading standards services.The Government amended the CPRs in 2014 to give consumers a new private right, making it simpler to bring their own civil actions for certain breaches. The Government also enhanced consumer protection through the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which clarifies consumer rights and remedies when contracting with traders for the provision of services. Traders are required to carry out a service with reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time and at a reasonable cost where the price has not been agreed upfront. Where a service is not carried out in compliance with these requirements, the consumer is entitled to ask for a repeat performance of the service, or if appropriate, get a price reduction up to the full amount paid.

Nuclear Power: Regulation

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the decision to withdraw from Euratom, what is their timetable for implementation of alternative arrangements for the regulation of civil nuclear power generation and radioactive waste management in the UK.

lord prior of brampton: The Government remains absolutely committed to the highest standards of safety, safeguards and support for the civil nuclear industry and will continue to comply with international standards once we leave Euratom. We will work to ensure that there is no interruption in the quality and robustness of our civil nuclear regime and that we achieve a smooth and orderly exit from Euratom. The nuclear industry remains of key strategic importance to the UK and we have been clear that this does not affect our clear aim of seeking and maintaining close and effective arrangements relating to civil nuclear cooperation with Europe and the rest of the world.

Electricity Generation

viscount ridley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the original version of the Frontier Economics paper Whole Power System Impacts.

lord prior of brampton: The Government has published the final report, as provided by Frontier Economics. The Government will consider the Freedom of Information requests that have been submitted in relation to publishing draft material prepared by Frontier Economics.

Electricity: Prices

viscount ridley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to address rising electricity prices, in the light of data released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change showing that prices in the rest of the EU15 countries are not rising.

lord prior of brampton: The Government wants to make sure that the cost of energy is affordable, fair and internationally competitive, both for businesses and households.The recent Committee on Climate Change report on the impact of energy policies on consumers’ energy bills found that energy efficiency policies bring down bills and outweigh the cost of other energy and climate change policies for households.The Industrial Strategy Green Paper, published in January 2017, announced our intention to commission a review to look at the cost of energy and the opportunities to reduce the cost of achieving our decarbonisation goals in the power and industrial sectors.The latest BEIS published international energy price comparison statistics show that medium-sized domestic electricity prices including taxes rose in most other EU15 countries in 2016 compared to 2015. The UK electricity price, however, fell over the same period. Prices are expressed in pounds sterling and the relative price increase across the rest of the EU15 is mainly due to pound/euro exchange rate changes.Over the same period, electricity prices for industrial users increased across most EU15 countries but were broadly unchanged in the UK. As with domestic price comparisons, exchange rate movements will have contributed to increases in electricity prices for other EU countries when expressed in pounds sterling.

Wind Power

viscount ridley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will instruct National Grid to review the system security rules specifying wind turbine Fault Ride Through, in the light of the final report by the Australian Energy Market Operator on the September 2016 blackout in South Australia.

lord prior of brampton: National Grid is responsible for specifying and reviewing the technical requirements for connection to, and use of, the National Electricity Transmission System. Wind turbine Fault Ride Through requirements were introduced by National Grid in June 2005 following consultation.National Grid and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy continue to engage with the Australian Electricity Market Operator to understand the causes of the South Australia Blackout Event on 28th September 2016 and identify any learning relevant to the GB National Electricity Transmission System.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Egypt: Christianity

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assistance they have offered the government of Egypt to protect Egypt's Coptic population from ISIS, following reports of targeted attacks, killings, and forced conversions.

baroness anelay of st johns: We are concerned about recent attacks in both Cairo and North Sinai against the Coptic Christian community, claimed by Daesh. The Government of Egypt has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the rights of minorities and to the need for religious tolerance. We welcome President Sisi's consistent calls for peaceful coexistence and the Government of Egypt's expression of support for the rights of Christians and for religious tolerance.As part of our UK-funded projects and programmes in Egypt we are providing counter-terrorism assistance to the Egyptian authorities and counter-IED training for the Egyptian security forces. We are committed to supporting the Egyptian Government's fight against terrorist groups, including those who seek to target minority groups such as Coptic Christians.

Israel and Palestinians: Suicide

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of suicides in (1) Gaza, (2) the West Bank, and (3) Israel, in the year ending 31 December 2016.

baroness anelay of st johns: We have not made any estimate of the number of suicides in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel for 2016.

Israel: Palestinians

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations are they making to the government of Israel following the release of a video by B’Tselem on 19 March, allegedly showing Israeli forces using a young Palestinian child as a human shield.

baroness anelay of st johns: On 27 March, our Embassy in Tel Aviv asked the Israeli authorities for clarification about the incident.

Mazen Faqha

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the killing of a senior Hamas member, Mazen Faqha, in Gaza; and what assessment they have made of the repercussions of that killing.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received reports of the killing. There remains an urgent need for all the parties to reach an agreement that addresses the underlying causes of the conflict in Gaza and to take the necessary steps to ensure Gaza’s reconstruction and economic recovery. Any agreement should ensure that Hamas and other militant groups permanently end rocket and other attacks against Israel; the Palestinian Authority resumes control of Gaza and restores effective governance; and that Israel lifts its restrictions to ease the suffering of ordinary Palestinians.

Israeli Settlements

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the decision by the government of Israel to approve the construction of a new settlement in the occupied West Bank.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Foreign Secretary issued a statement on 31 March strongly condemning the Israeli Government’s decision to found a new settlement deep in the West Bank. The construction of this settlement is contrary to international law and seriously undermines the prospects of two states for two peoples. Our Ambassador to Tel Aviv also raised the UK’s grave concerns with the Israeli authorities on 31 March.

North Korea: Human Rights

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of reports of human rights violations committed by the government of North Korea against its exiled citizens, and of some exiled North Koreans having become UK citizens, what is their response to the recommendation by the UNHCR group of independent experts on accountability in their report to the 34th session published on 24 February that UN Member States "enact legislation with extraterritorial effect for gross violations of human rights and, for those States that recognize the principle of universal jurisdiction, consider how they can contribute to securing accountability for human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea"; and whether they intend to enact such legislation.

baroness anelay of st johns: We welcome the UN Group of Independent Experts Report which is an important milestone in the process of developing a viable framework for accountability for those who commit human rights violations in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). At the UN Human Rights Council in March, the UK strongly supported a new resolution on DPRK human rights which drew on the recommendations in the report. The adoption of the resolution demonstrated that there is broad consensus among the international community on strengthening the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Seoul. This provides OHCHR with additional resources to gather and evaluate evidence and consult legal professionals about how this evidence could be used in any future internationally agreed framework for accountability. Legislation already exists in the UK which covers extraterritoriality. War crimes under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957, and a small number of other grave offences, including torture, are already subject to universal jurisdiction.

Chongryon

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are aware of (1) members of Chongryon, formerly known as the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, entering or doing business in the United Kingdom, and (2) whether Chongryon members have had any interactions with diplomats from the DPRK Embassy in London, in the last five years.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not monitor the day to day activities of diplomatic missions in London nor do we have records of meetings and engagements arranged by those missions.

Turkey: Politics and Government

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Final Report of the Third Imrali Peace Delegation published in March by the EU–Turkey Civic Commission concerning events in Turkey since November 2015; and what is their response to the Commission's call for action by the European Court of Human Rights and the Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

baroness anelay of st johns: We have taken note of the report by the EU-Turkey Civil Commission and its concerns. The European Court of Human Rights is heavily engaged on issues related to Turkey, which accounts for 20% of its pending cases. The Committee for the Prevention of Torture is also very engaged on Turkey and visited the country twice in 2016. We continue to urge the Turkish authorities to engage with the Council of Europe and other human rights mechanisms to address international concerns about human rights in Turkey.

Turkey: Emergency Powers

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have been notified that the state of emergency in Turkey has been lifted; and if not, when they expect that this will happen.

baroness anelay of st johns: ​The current state of emergency in Turkey is still in force and it is uncertain when it is likely to be lifted.

Turkey: Prisons

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of reports of hunger strikes in Turkish prisons, what representations, if any, they have made to the government of Turkey about prison conditions and the treatment of political prisoners; and whether they will call for full access to prisoners for delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

baroness anelay of st johns: ​We have called for Turkey to engage with the recommendations by the Council of Europe and other international bodies, including addressing allegations of mistreatment in detention. We have no plans to ask the Turkish government whether it will invite the International Committee of the Red Cross to have access to its prisons.

Turkey: Armed Forces

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will call on the government of Turkey to pay compensation in cases of death or serious injury caused by Turkish forces, and, in particular, to the parents of Rozerin Cukurs who was allegedly killed by an army sniper in January 2016.

baroness anelay of st johns: The question of compensation is a matter for the Turkish courts. We have emphasised to the Turkish government the need to respect human rights and avoid civilian casualties in the course of military operations.

MV Seaman Guard Ohio

lord maginnis of drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Somalia pirates’ hijacking of an Indian vessel on 1 April, whether they intend to further press the government of India regarding the release of the British ex-servicemen known as the Chennai Six who were arrested while on anti-piracy duties in October 2013; and what representations they have made to the government of India about the proportion of the five-year sentences which should be served.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Asia and the Pacific have all raised this case in meetings with counterparts during recent visits to India and made clear the importance of seeing progress. Most recently the Foreign Secretary raised the case with Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar during his visit in January.While we do not seek to interfere in the legal process of another country, we continue to urge swift due process and await the verdict of the men's appeal.

Turkey: NATO

lord campbell of pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey following reports that it has been blocking partner programmes with countries which are not members of NATO.

baroness anelay of st johns: At NATO, the UK and Turkey regularly discuss the importance of the Alliance's cooperation with partners to project stability beyond its borders, such as by helping to build resilience and capacity in partner countries, as agreed at the Warsaw Summit last year.

Syria: Armed Conflict

baroness cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that fighters in East Ghouta in rural Damascus, in their Worshippers of God, Remain Steadfast campaign, are supported by the Hay’at Tahrir A-Sham group; and whether they have provided political or practical support to those fighters.

baroness anelay of st johns: We remain seriously concerned by ongoing regime military activity, particularly in eastern Ghouta. We are aware of clashes between pro-regime forces and opposition groups, following heavy bombardment and the imposition of starvation sieges by the regime in the area. Although the majority of fighters are from non-extremist groups, we are aware of reports of involvement of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) in these clashes. In all our engagement with the opposition we urge them to adhere to the ceasefire, adhere to international humanitarian law and to avoid cooperation with HTS.The UK's political and practical support to the opposition is provided to those moderate groups who are standing up to both the tyranny of Asad and terrorist threat of Daesh, and have made clear their commitment to a negotiated settlement to the conflict. The UK provides no support to HTS and does not provide weapons to any party in Syria.

Syria: Chemical Weapons

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of chemical weapons attacks that have been perpetrated against the people of Syria in the present conflict.

baroness anelay of st johns: There have been numerous allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria in the present conflict, with over 250 attacks alleged since the chemical weapons attack in Ghouta in August 2013. The Joint Investigative Mechanism, a joint UN-Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons body established by the UN Security Council, looked at nine specific cases from 2014 and 2015 in detail. It attributed responsibility to the Syrian regime in three cases and to Daesh in one. The vast majority of reported chemical weapons use involves allegations of attacks by the Syrian regime, largely consistent with regime capabilities and with incidents the Joint Investigation Mechanism has attributed to the regime.

Zimbabwe: Pensions

lord goodlad: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost of proposals submitted by the Overseas Service Pension Association in December 2016 for assisting the government of Zimbabwe in meeting its obligations to Zimbabwe public service pensions.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Government understands the hardship that lack of pension payments causes to former service-people and their families. The British Ambassador to Zimbabwe raises pensions frequently with the Zimbabwean Government and has secured written confirmation that it will resume payments when the economic situation improves. However, we have not made an estimate of the cost as these payments are the responsibility of the Government of Zimbabwe as set out in the Lancaster House Agreement in 1979.

Department for International Development

Syria: Overseas Aid

baroness manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to help solve the humanitarian and political crisis in Syria, and to help in the redevelopment of its infrastructure.

lord bates: The UK is at the forefront of the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis, providing lifesaving aid to millions of Syrians, helping Syrian refugees to remain in host countries in the region and enabling host countries to accommodate them. The UK has pledged £2.46 billion since the crisis began, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. We have helped to provide nearly 25 million food rations, over 9.5 million relief packages and over 7 million health consultations.The UK supports fully the Syrian peace talks under the auspices of the UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva. A negotiated political transition is the only way to end this terrible conflict. While the conflict is ongoing, our priority is to deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid those affected by the crisis. Support to reconstruction can only take place when a comprehensive, genuine and inclusive political transition is firmly under way.

Refugees: Overseas Aid

lord mcinnes of kilwinning: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of UK aid to refugee camps in Turkey, Jordan, and the Lebanon is focused on minority communities from Syria and Iraq.

lord bates: The UK is at the forefront of the humanitarian response to the crises in this region. UK aid is helping people in desperate need inside Syria and Iraq, as well as supporting refugees in host countries in the region, and host countries to accommodate them. Our aid is distributed on the basis of need, to ensure civilians are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, or ethnicity. We prioritise reaching the most vulnerable, which often includes minority communities. To avoid the risk of discrimination, information on the ethnicity and religion of those receiving UK aid is not sought or recorded. The vast majority of refugees in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon are hosted within communities, and are not in camps.

Syria: Minority Groups

lord mcinnes of kilwinning: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they have provided to religious minorities in areas of Syria (1) controlled by the Free Syrian Army, and (2) under Kurdish control.

lord bates: The UK has pledged £2.46 billion since the crisis began, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. Inside Syria, UK aid has provided 19.7 million food rations that feed one person for a month, over 8.5 million relief packages and over 6.7 million health consultations. UK aid is distributed on the basis of need, to ensure civilians are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, or ethnicity. We prioritise reaching the most vulnerable – which often includes minority communities – regardless of their location. To avoid the risk of discrimination, information on the religion of those receiving UK aid is not sought or recorded

Department for Education

Pre-school Education

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to safeguard the future of nursery schools in the UK and ensure that they can continue to provide the education and social skills needed for early years development, whilst offering a safe environment for children.

lord nash: Maintained nursery schools make a valuable contribution to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children.We are providing local authorities with supplementary funding of £55 million per year to enable them to maintain existing levels of nursery school funding at least to the end of this Parliament. Details of the funding can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-national-funding-formula-allocations-and-guidance We have recently completed a data assurance exercise that will ensure that local authorities receive the correct amount of supplementary funding, and we will consult on the future of maintained nursery schools in due course.

Children: Day Care

the lord bishop of durham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the increased number of childcare staff that will be required for the implementation of the 30 hours free childcare a week for three- and four-year-olds from September.

the lord bishop of durham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for increasing the number of childcare staff by September to meet additional demand resulting from the implementation of the 30 hours free childcare a week for three- and four-year-olds.

lord nash: The number of places, and therefore staff, required to deliver 30 hours will depend on a variety of factors, including existing take up of additional childcare outside the current free entitlement. Many working families with three-and four-year olds already use more than 15 hours of childcare so many of the required childcare places already exist. There is also existing spare capacity in the system to help deliver the new entitlement. Local authorities continue to be required to secure sufficient childcare, and therefore staff to fulfil those places in line with ratio requirements, as far as is reasonably practicable, for working parents or parents who are studying or training for employment, for children aged 0-14 (or up to 18 for disabled children). In March, the Department published an early years workforce strategy, which set out a number of measures to support the sector to recruit, retain and develop staff. This included announcing that to support recruitment, from 3 April 2017 the English and maths qualification requirements for level 3 Early Years Educators would be broadened out to include other suitable level 2 qualifications, including functional skills. We continue to support growth and the creation of new places to deliver the 30 hours funded entitlement. In 2016, we ran a £50 million early years capital bid round, for which local authorities, in partnership with providers, were invited to submit bids. This investment will create almost 9,000 additional places for eligible children to help meet demand. We are now going even further, making additional investment through the same capital bid round that will support even more providers to deliver 30 hours.

Ministry of Justice

Immigration: Appeals

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of individuals pursuing appeals in (1) the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), and (2) the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), did not have representation, for each year, since December 2012.

lord keen of elie: The proportions of individuals pursuing appeals that did not have representation are: 2013201420152016(1) the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)25%21%21%20%(2) the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)12%12%10%10% The data are based on the number of disposals recorded as not represented and are reported in calendar years.

Ministry of Defence

Defence: Expenditure

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate, in pounds sterling, of the difference between (1) the amount spent by each NATO member state which has failed to spend two per cent of GDP on defence, and (2) the amount which would be spent if that target had been reached, for the last year for which GDP figures are available for each member state.

earl howe: NATO publishes defence investment statistics on the expenditure of Allies, with the most recent figures published in March 2017. These figures are available at:http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49198.htm.The attached table contains defence spending by NATO Allies in US dollars at current and 2010 exchange rates. NATO determines the definitions for categorising defence spending. All NATO members are assessed using the same guidelines so that NATO Allies' defence spending can be compared accurately.Neither NATO, nor the UK, produces analysis on potential defence spending by Allies.



NATO Defence Spending in US Dollars
(Word Document, 26 KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment: Disability

lord rea: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve the understanding of Jobcentre Plus staff and work coaches of the capabilities and support needs of disabled people who (1) are deafblind, and (2) have complex needs.

lord henley: The Department for Work and Pensions has a network of Disability Employment Advisers, who are experienced in helping deliver services to customers with all disabilities and health conditions. The role of the Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) is to share their expertise, provide support to enhance Work Coach capability in advising disabled people to help them find and retain employment. Through up-skilling and support from the DEA, Work Coaches are equipped to deliver improved service to all our customers, including those who are deaf, blind or who have complex needs. Learning is available for all customer-facing staff on a wide range of areas, some of which specifically covers what to consider when supporting people with visual and hearing impairments and complex needs. Community Partners are also being introduced in to Jobcentres to provide additional advice and support to Work Coaches in all areas of disability and the impact that this can have on a person’s ability to finding or keep a job.In addition, all DWP staff have recently been made aware of a new product - the Disability Passport. This can be completed by the customer and presented to staff at the Jobcentre. The content can be used to support communications between the Work Coach and the customer, ensuring any appropriate reasonable adjustments are put in place to support the individual. Further information is available to all Jobcentre staff through the District Provision Tool, which will highlight any local organisations who provide support, help and advice to customers with disabilities and health conditions.

Employment: Disability

lord rea: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will commit to working with charities, such as Sense, to tailor employment support for disabled people to maximise their chances of successfully joining the labour market.

lord henley: The Government is committed to continuing to engage with a wide range of stakeholders and partners, all of whom have an important part to play in making the transformative changes required to support disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to get into and stay in work. For example, with the publication of the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper in October last year, the Government launched a three-month national consultation. During this time we engaged with a wide range of individuals with disabilities and long-term conditions, as well as charities with an interest, including Sense, in order to hear their views on the actions that need to be taken to transform the prospects of disabled people and people with long-term health conditions We organised a series of face-to-face consultation events, hosted by partners from disability charities and employers, to collectively explore the green paper’s themes and questions. These were designed in close collaboration with a range of organisations, including Sense. The consultation closed on 17th February 2017 and we are now carefully considering all the submissions we received as we develop our policy options and set out our next steps.

Department for Communities and Local Government

World War II: Genocide

lord robathan: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report from the Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission, published in January 2015, which identified three prospective sites for the intended Holocaust Memorial, for what reasons, and by what means, was a different site in Victoria Tower Gardens chosen.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Holocaust Commission's report was clear that the three potential sites it identified were “not the only possible sites”. As the cross-party body advising Government on taking forward the recommendations of the Holocaust Commission, the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation was tasked with finding the most appropriate location for a national memorial to the Holocaust and an accompanying education centre. The Government agrees with the Foundation’s recommendation that Victoria Tower Gardens, next to Parliament, is considered the most appropriate of the almost 50 sites examined, including those identified by the Commission in Lambeth and at Millbank. The option of locating at Potters Field referred to in the Holocaust Commission report no longer exists.

Local Government

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the role of parish and community councils in local government.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Parish councils, as the first tier of local government, have an important role to play and the activities they undertake should be shaped by the needs of their communities. That is why the Government has given parish councils greater freedoms and powers to serve those communities more effectively, and made it easier for communities in areas without a parish council to trigger the process of creating one.

Council Housing: Greater London

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their most recent assessment of the financial implications for London borough councils of housing families without access to public funds, and what plans they have to make additional funds available to these authorities.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Our 2015 Spending Review took account of the costs to councils of supporting families with no recourse to public funds, and set out a sustainable basis for local authorities to discharge their functions. Councils in England will receive more than £200 billion for local services over this Parliament.

Opportunity and Integration Review

lord ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what programmes are being run as a result of The Casey Review: A review into opportunity and integration, published in December 2016; and, in the light of the report by The Challenge, Understanding School Segregation in England: 2011 to 2016, published in March, whether those programmes are appropriate or require new consideration.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: My Rt. Hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has made clear that he is studying Dame Louise Casey’s review of opportunity and integration closely. The Government intends to bring forward a new integration strategy in the coming months.As part of that process, we will carefully consider Dame Louise’s recommendations for promoting greater integration in our schools. My advisers have met with The Challenge and this will help to inform our approach.

HM Treasury

Help to Buy Scheme

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of households with an income over £100,000 per annum that have received mortgage assistance through the Help to Buy Scheme.

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the numbers of households with an income under £30,000 per annum that have received mortgage assistance through the Help to Buy Scheme.

baroness neville-rolfe: The Government routinely publishes Official Statistics on the performances of the Help to Buy schemes. The most recent publications were on 30 March 2017. For the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee and Equity Loan schemes, breakdowns of completions supported under the scheme by total household income is published. For the Help to Buy: ISA, the equivalent data is not collected. Total household income is defined as the total income for all individuals who are party to an application made under the scheme. Under the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme, from October 2013 to December 2016, 22,062 (22% of total completions) completions were by applicants that had a total household income of £30,000 or less and 3,031(3%) had a total household income greater than £100,000. Under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, from April 2013 to December 2016, 19,336 (17%) completions were by applicants that had a total household income of £30,000 or less and 3,952(4%) had a total household income greater than £100,000.

Employment: Taxation

lord mawson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on (1) small and medium-sized enterprises, and (2) charities, of having to comply with the requirements of the Employment Status Indicator when procuring services from individuals.

baroness neville-rolfe: At Budget 2016, the Government announced that from April 2017, where public sector workers are engaged through their own limited company, responsibility to operate the off-payroll working rules (often known as IR35) and deduct any associated tax and National Insurance will fall to the public sector body, agency or other third party paying the worker’s company. The reform does not introduce a new liability, but aims to ensure that the current rules work as intended. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published an assessment of the administrative burdens of this legislative reform at Budget 2016 and this was updated on 8 March 2017. This assessment also covers charities and small and medium sized businesses. To help customers know when the off-payroll working in the public sector rules apply, HMRC has developed, after extensive consultation, an online “Check Employment Status for Tax” (CEST) advice service. CEST replaces the old Employment Status Indicator. Affected businesses will incur one-off costs for familiarisation with the new rules and this includes using CEST. Ongoing costs for using CEST are expected to be negligible. It is an optional service which sits alongside detailed online guidance on employment status.

Taxation: Domicil

lord mccoll of dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the announcement in the Summer Budget 2015 that non-doms who have been resident in the UK for at least 15 of the last 20 years would in future be deemed to be domiciled in the UK for tax purposes, how many non-doms have since left the UK; and what is their estimate of the reduction in tax and annual charges under the remittance basis regime which has resulted from those departures.

lord mccoll of dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy to encourage non-doms to continue to be resident in the UK in order to increase tax revenues.

lord mccoll of dulwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy to eliminate investment barriers which discourage remittances into the UK.

baroness neville-rolfe: The reforms announced at Summer Budget 2015 to the way that non-domiciled individuals are taxed in the UK did not take effect until April 2017, and the Government does not hold data on the effect of the announcements. In addition, the Business Investment Relief has been expanded to encourage further investment in UK business by non-domiciled individuals. The reforms will be legislated for in the current Finance Bill and are carefully targeted to make the UK’s tax system fairer whilst ensuring that the UK remains an attractive destination for those people who want to live, work and invest here.

Business: Investment

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the latest Office for Budget Responsibility figures published in its Economic and fiscal outlook March 2017, showing an annual fall in business investment of 1.5 per cent in 2016 and a further fall forecast for 2017, what is their assessment of the impact of falling business investment on GDP; and what plans they have to address this.

baroness neville-rolfe: The OBR forecast business investment to grow by 15 per cent over the forecast horizon to 2021, and to rise as a share of GDP. The government is committed to ensuring that businesses have the right environment to invest. We are delivering this by cutting corporation tax to 17 per cent by 2020, setting out our Industrial Strategy and investing for the future through the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF).

Social Security: Expenditure

earl attlee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total expenditure on social security in 2016–17; and what were the ten largest heads of expenditure.

baroness neville-rolfe: The total expenditure on social security in the UK in 2016–17 was forecast to be £217.9bn by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), in their Spring Budget 2017 forecast. Table 4.24 of the OBR’s March 2017 Economic and Fiscal Outlook[1] provides more detail, including a breakdown by benefit area. [1] Office for Budget Responsibility, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, March 2017, Table 4.24 (http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/March2017EFO-231.pdf).

Bank of England

lord harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider advising the Bank of England to change its formal name to the Bank of England and the United Kingdom, whilst continuing to use the Bank of England for day-to-day purposes.

baroness neville-rolfe: The Bank of England's name carries a longevity that pre-dates the formation of the United Kingdom itself, having been founded in 1694 as “the Governor and Company of the Bank of England”. Under the current state of the union the Bank acts as central bank for the entirety of the United Kingdom. This includes underwriting both Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes.To change its name now would represent a break from over 300 years’ worth of history and the prestige it carries as a global brand.

Cabinet Office

Inflation

lord shipley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to harmonise the various indices used to calculate inflation.

viscount younger of leckie: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply and will place a copy of their letter in the House library.



UKSA Response to HL6417
(PDF Document, 168.28 KB)

Terrorism

lord laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they assess the risk of terrorist attacks in the UK.

viscount younger of leckie: The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre produces regular detailed assessments of the international terrorist threat to both the UK and its interests abroad, which inform the UK’s threat levels. Information on the UK’s threat levels is available online. More generally, the Government assesses the most significant risks facing the UK over the next five years, including terrorism, through the National Risk Assessment (NRA). The National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies, the public version of the NRA (copy attached), is available online and has been placed in the House of Lords Library. This in turn helps Government and emergency responders to prepare for and respond to potential incidents. In order to assess the risk of a terrorist attack, Government works with the intelligence community to gather information about the intent and capability of potential adversaries. Together with information about potential targets, this enables the Government to assess how plausible an attack might be and what effects it may have. 



National Risk Register 
(PDF Document, 439.3 KB)

Government Departments: Mobile Phones

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Written Answer by Lord Young of Cookham on 21 March (HL5826), what messaging applications are specifically approved for use on Cabinet Office-issued official smartphones issued to Ministers and Civil Servants; whether they will publish the acceptable use guidelines and departmental records management policy; and if so, when.

viscount younger of leckie: The departmental records policy, which is in line with the requirements set out in the Lord Chancellor's Code of Practice and the Civil Service Code, is currently subject to its annual review and, in the interests of transparency, will be published in due course. In the interests of departmental security, the Cabinet Office does not publish details of applications that are authorised for use on Government smartphones. Guidelines on use of social media have been published on GOV.UK and can be found at the following: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-media-guidance-for-civil-servants/social-media-guidance-for-civil-servants

Department for International Trade

Trade Missions

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many trade missions they have organised since 2010; and what is their estimate of the added value to the UK economy of each one.

lord price: The Department for International Trade, formerly UKTI, has supported 7,181 unique businesses through outward missions and 4,333 unique businesses through inward missions since the financial year 2010-11 through to end FY2015-16. The estimate for the total anticipated value of outward missions since FY2010-11, based on firm-level data collected through our internal DIT (UKTI) client survey, is £6.42 billion in additional sales. This equates to an average of £893,000 in additional sales per unique business supported. The comparable estimate for inward missions is £2.64 billion in additional sales since 2010-11. This equates to an average of £609,000 in additional sales per unique business supported.

Arms Trade: Trade Fairs

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that no illegal torture equipment is sold at arms fairs held in the UK; and, when such sales occur, what action they take.

lord price: The Export Control Organisation (ECO) in the Department for International Trade works closely with the organisers of the world’s leading event for the defence and security sector (Defence and Security Equipment International), held bi-annually in London, to ensure that exhibitors are aware of their legal obligations in respect of illegal torture equipment. To date these arrangements have been covered by a Memorandum of Understanding between the organisers and Export Control Organisation. HMRC, which is responsible for enforcing export controls, and DIT maintain a presence at the bi-annual event to monitor compliance. HRMC, has appropriate powers to take a range of enforcement action in the event that controls are breached or there is an allegation that controls have been breached. In addition, ECO personnel also routinely attend other defence sales events in the UK to raise awareness among both exhibitors and other attendees of their export control responsibilities.